Waste quickly increases amid short, outdated treatment facilities

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, standing deputy head of Vietnam Urban Environment and Industrial Park Association, said that Vietnam has about 12.8 million tons of waste a year with the growth rate approximating 12 percent. Still, only 85.5 percent of waste in urban areas and 45.5 percent in rural areas are collected and treated. A large number of businesses outside industrial parks and export processing zones have not signed contracts with waste collection, transport and treatment firms. That has caused waste dumped indiscriminately in the environment. In addition, most of the collected volume has been buried. The country has 660 landfill sites with the total area of over one hectare. Only 25 percent of these are hygienic. By AI VAN – Translated by Hai Mien